Man Sentenced To Life For Girlfriend's Murder In Wheat Ridge

JEFFERSON COUNTY, CO — A Wheat Ridge man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his 23-year-old girlfriend, the First Judicial District Attorney's office announced Thursday. Following seven days of trial, a jury deliberated for two days before returning its guilty verdict.

Joshua Kamuela Akuila Kane, 33, stabbed his girlfriend to death, the DA's office said.

On July 29, Wheat Ridge police were called to 8776 W. 46th Avenue, where they found Nicole Lindsey dead in her bedroom. She had been stabbed in the abdomen and her neck had been slashed, the DA's office said.

Six weeks before her murder, Kane had moved into Lindsey’s apartment, uninvited, prosecutors said. She had been telling family and friends she wanted him out.

Lindsey had met Kane through a friend when she was in high school. They had struck up a friendship on social media, shortly before she went to Hawaii on vacation in May, 2018. In Hawaii they began spending time together, and after she returned, Kane dropped everything and moved into her apartment, the DA's office said.

“This was a senseless and devastating loss of a young woman with a bright future before her,” DA Pete Weir said. “While there is never true solace, our prosecution team and the Wheat Ridge Police Department did an outstanding job in bringing justice for Lindsey and our community.”